Smoker&#39;s appliance



,June 22, 1937. w. c. WAGNER 2,084,785

SMOKERS APPLIANCE Filled March 20; 1956 14 6. Wagner Patented June 22, 1937 @ATEN'E' OFFICE SMOKERS APPLIANCE Walter C. Wagner, Oneida, N. Y.

Application March 20, 1936, Serial No. 69,924

2 Claims.

This invention relates to smokers appliances, and more particularly, to a cigar or cigarette rest in the nature of a detachable unit which may be applied to and supported on the upper edge of a suitable receptacle, such as, for example, a tobacco can, cigarette tin, or some other available container or receptacle suitable for conversion into an ash tray or receiver.

According to one of the preferred forms of 0 my invention, I have provided a means for applying a cigar or cigarette rest to a well known tin or can in which cigarettes are packaged for marketing, whereby to convert the can into a useful ash tray article upon the removal or complete consumption of the cigarettes normally stored therein. Other forms of the invention as illustrated in the drawing and as hereinafter more specifically described, have been designed so as to be adaptable to a more universal utility as a detachable rest unit.

The essential object of the invention is to provide a simple and useful cigar or cigarette rest which may be cheaply manufactured, as by stamping the same from sheet metal of relatively thin gauge, and by reason of its extreme simplicity and economy of manufacture, an article of this character is provided which may be sold separately at a very nominal cost, or utilized as a premium article in the merchandising of cigarettes, tobacco, or other smokers materials. In other words, it has been my aim to keep the cost of manufacture of the article to a minimum, and especially, to provide an article of this character which is so small in size and light in weight that one or more of the articles may be included with the cigarettes in each tin or can as they are now marketed, or otherwise packaged for distribution along with smokers utensils or materials.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a well known cigarette tin or can in which cigarettes are marketed at the present time, and showing two of my detachable cigar or cigarette rest units applied thereto for converting the tin into a useful ash tray or receiver;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a sheet metal blank from which the detachable units of Figure 1 are formed, the blank being illustrated in a flat condition prior to giving the same a transverse curvature and also prior to depressing the central tongue or tab which serves to attach the unit to the supporting tin or can;

Figure 3 is a view of one of the completed rest units in side elevation;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the unit illustrated in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified form of blank;

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation of the completed rest unit as made from the blank of Figure 5, and illustrating the manner in which the unit is adapted to be mounted upon the edge or lip of a suitable support such as a tobacco can or other available receptacle which may be utilized to receive ashes, discarded cigarette butts or cigar butts.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawmg.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is illustrated a well known cylindrical tin or sheet metal can in which a popular brand of cigarettes is marketed at the present time, the cover of the can having been removed. The body I of the can is more or less conventionaL in construction, but within the upper end or mouth thereof is arranged an annular sleeve or collar 2, the lower edge of which is pressed out, as at 3, into an annular depression 4 which forms a bead in the wall of the can. The collar or sleeve 2 projects upwardly a short distance above the upper edge 5 of the can body, so that when the can cover (not shown) is applied to the can, the marginal skirt or flange of the cover fits snugly around the projecting portion of the collar 2, bringing the lower edge of the skirt or flange into alignment with the upper edge 5 of the can body, to which it is adapted to be attached by a so-called tear strip in the well known manner. By reason of the provision of the sleeve or collar 2, there is provided at the mouth of the can body I what I have termed a dual or double wall, although of course, this double wall extends only a short distance below the upper edge of the can body.

Ordinarily, upon consumption of the cigarettes which are packaged in the can, or upon removal thereof, the cans are discarded, but I have found that the empty cans may be adapted to the further very useful purpose of an ash tray or receptacle. simple and efficient cigar or cigarette rest unit which may be conveniently applied to the can for enhancing its value as an ash tray or receiver.

One of the preferred forms of rest unit which To this end, I have provided a very I have devised is illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, and the manner of application thereof to the can is clearly disclosed in Figure 1. These units are preferably formed from relatively thin gauge sheet metal, as by stamping out a blank as particularly shown in Figure 2. The body 6 of the blank is cut by a suitable die to form a central tongue or tab 1 of sufficient length that when the tabis depressed from the body 6, as by bending the same along the dotted line 8 of Figure 2, to assume a depending position substantially at right angles to the body 6 proper, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the tab or tongue may be inserted intermediate the double wall of the can I, formed by the upper extremity of the can body and the annular collar or sleeve 2. When this tab is so inserted, as just described, and as clearly illustrated in Figure 1, the rest unit will be firmly held in position on the upper end of the can, with the body 6 of the unit disposed across the lip'or mouth of the can, with a portion thereof overhanging the mouth of the can. Itis to be understood that when the tab or tongue I has been inserted between the outer wall of the can body I and the inner wall which constitutes the sleeve or collar 2, the rest unit is preferably pressed down firmly until the body 5 comes into engagement with the upper edge or lip of the collar 2, thereby causing the lip to act as a brace against inadvertent or accidental bending or tilting of the body 6 towards the interior of the can. As illustrated in Figure 1, a plurality of the rest units-may be attached to the can or receptacle so as to accommodate more than one cigar or cigare'tte at a time. Inasmuch as the cans or containers l are at least as deep as the length of a cigarette, they will hold a considerable quantity of-ashes or other discarded smoking materials,

and without causing the same to be accidentally spilled out as so frequently happens in the case of a shallow ash tray.

Passing now to the construction illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the blank 6 is similarly formed as previously described in respect to the co-nstrucshown and described, the invention is not con-. fined thereto, as changes and alterations may be tion' of Figure'2, excepting that a pair of tongues 1' are formed within the body of the blank and bent downwardly therefrom along the dotted lines 8, whereby to provideoppositely disposed spaced clamping fingers which are adapted to receive therebetween the upper edge of an ordinary can,

cup, glass, or other suitable receptacle, as indicated in Figure 6. 9 designates the wall of the receptacle upon the upper edge of which the rest unit is adapted to be detachably mounted, and I when so mounted, as shown in Figure 6, the

"fingers 1', through their inherent resiliency,

firmly grip the wall of the container so as to secure the rest unit in position thereon. Of course, the modified construction of the rest unit of Figures 5 and 6 is equally adaptable for appli- .cation to the special container or receptacle illustrated in Figure 1, although it might be considered to be more adapted to universal use than is the rest unit of Figure 1, inasmuch as it may be applied to an ordinary single-walled vessel or receptacle, as distinguished from the doublewalled receptacle of Figure 1.

, Instead of forming the tongues I or 1 within the body of the blank 6 or 6', it is within the purview of the invention to form the t ngues separately and secure the same to the shelf-like body or rest, as by soldering or welding. In any event, I prefer to have the tongue or tongues depend from the main body of the rest unit substantially midway between the opposite ends thereof, and the tongues are preferably flat and of substantial width so as to present a comparatively broad surface in a direction transversely of the longitudinal axis of the rest body. This is so the unit may be applied to the mouth of a receptacle with the shelf-like body arranged across the upper edge or lip of the receptacle, or in other words, radially of the receptacle in the case of a cylindrical receptacle or container.

The substantially uniformly spaced relation of the opposed fiat clamping fingers in the constructions illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, produces a firm gripping action, minimizing accidental displacement of the rest unit from the receptacle after the same has been mounted thereon, although it will be understood that in every case, the unit may be readily removed or dismounted when desired.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a novel and practical appliance of a very useful character and by means of which an ash tray may be made up at a very small fraction of the cost of ash trays which are now available on the market. It will be understood that if the rest units are packaged in the cans or packages of cigarettes, along with the cigarettes, as I have previously suggested, they may be left in a flat condition so as to occupy only a small space. When removed from the package, the bending of the tongue or tongues to a depending position, and the shaping of the body of the rest unit to assume an upwardly curved condition,

may be performed by hand. However, the stamping of the blanks and the formation of all bends to the final finished condition of each of the units, may all be performed by machine, and as a very simple operation, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art of metal stamping.

' While the specific details have been herein made withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters disposed respecting said body.

2. A detachable cigar or cigarette rest unit, comprising a transversely upwardly curved body of sheet metal, and a pair of resilient tongues formed within said body and depressed therefrom so as to depend perpendicularly thereto substantially midway between the ends thereof,

said tongues being fiat and presenting relatively broad clamping faces transversely disposed respecting said body. WALTER CJWAGNER'. 

